Small animals, particularly birds, are often housed for long periods of time within some sort of cage. In order to feed these animals, it is necessary to gain access to the interior of the cage. It is also advantageous if the feeding station or one or more dishes are located away from the perimeter and towards the center of the cage so that any scatter of food or water does not fall outside the cage, and so that the animals (preferably birds) have room to access the dish without being encumbered by the walls of the cage.
Most cages have feeding dishes attached to the perimeter of the cage for ease of access by the caretaker and sometimes include a small door located in a sidewall of the cage, and separate from the main access door, to refresh/replace or clean the food and water dishes. Thus, when the food/water dish is placed at the perimeter of the cage, it makes it easy to service, but also makes it more likely that food will fall outside the cage. When the dish is located in the center of the cage, it is much more difficult to access and service, because one needs to open the main door to get to the dish, thereby engaging with the occupant of the cage who may want to escape, or play, or run and hide.
Various patents have been identified which seek to address the above referenced problem of scatter. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,305 to Oveta and Robert Hollaway discloses a feeder which is clamped to the wall of the bird cage and comprises a rigid extension bar which is not capable of maneuvering for access, but rather is stationary, permanently locating the feeding dish at the center of the cage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,796 discloses a bird feeder to be hung from a tree with a height adjustment to allow the entirety of the feeder to be lowered for gaining access thereto.
Attention is also directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,430 entitled “Reduced Mess Bird Feeder” which discloses a bird feeder which is designed so that a feeding bird leaves a reduced amount of bird food in an area outside the bird cage when compared to a conventional bird feeder. Such feeder relies upon the use of a plurality of feeder dishes and a pedestal, the pedestal including a base permanently positioned within the cage center. In addition, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 1,575,101 which appears to again disclose the permanent positioning of a bird feeder at the cage center. Other patents of general interest include U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,372 entitled “Bird Cage Feeder Device”, U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,226, entitled “Bird Feeder”.
In spite of all the above disclosures, there still remains a need for a consumer friendly feeding device that facilitates the ability to easily replenish the bird feeder, yet which also positions the feeder at a location within the cage to minimize scatter. The present invention, therefore, has as its principal object the development of such a bird or small animal feeding device that can be conveniently positioned at different locations within the cage so that the feeder can be readily accessed at a perimeter/door location, yet repositioned and relocated within the cage environment to reduce the amount of feed, seeds and husks that are naturally scattered by the bird or other animal, and to reduce the amount of attention necessary by the bird/animal owner to maintain a clean and healthy environment.
It is thus, also an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for feeding small animals or birds contained in a cage by providing a centralized feeder which can be maneuvered to the cage wall for access through the door by the caretaker.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a centralized feeder for a cage that can be positioned within the cage without the main cage door being open,
It is further object of this invention to provide a centralized feeder for a cage that does not require a secondary access door at the perimeter of the cage.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide a feeder apparatus for a cage that provides adjustability and maneuverability of the feeder apparatus to various locations within the cage for cleaning, rearrangement, etc.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a feeder apparatus that is easy to access and which substantially contains scattering of food and/or liquid inside the cage due to its position.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide a feeder apparatus containing the above mentioned attributes which can also simultaneously serve as a perch while the occupant feeds.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a maneuverable feeder apparatus for a cage which provides a means for supporting containers for water, food, etc